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Dear Friend,
In this edition of our quarterly newsletter, we share an update about the Tahoe Keys Weeds, nominations to become an Executive Committee Member, and Lake Tahoe's Plastic Problem. Everything we do is from the generous backing grassroots conservation from volunteers and activists like you! Thank you!
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Nominations Needed for Executive Committee Members and Volunteers Needed for Our Outings Program
We are looking for nominees to join our Executive Committee to help grow and engage our membership and strengthen the group. If you are concerned about the environment in the Tahoe Basin and can commit to two years to join our Groups' Executive Committee, then we would love to hear from you or someone you might know that would be interested. Please contact us with your nomination at tahoegroupsierraclub@gmail.com. Read more...
Also, the Tahoe Area Group is looking for individuals interested in becoming outings leaders. These volunteers will help plan and lead hikes and other outdoor activities. If you are interested or have any questions, please feel free to email tahoegroupsierraclub@gmail.com. |
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Lake Tahoe Summit Recap
The 28th annual Lake Tahoe Summit was held on August 14th, at Round Hill Pines in Nevada and hosted by US Senator Catherine Cortez Masto. Members of our Executive Committee were in attendance to listen to the speeches given by the federal delegation representing Lake Tahoe and Chairman Serrel Smokey of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California focusing on this year's theme about the future of transportation and trails. More parking lots and tourist trails north of Sand Harbor will only worsen lake clarity, increase wildfire impacts to some of the most pristine areas in the Basin, and cause wildfire evacuation nightmare scenarios that are inevitable due to our increasingly warming climate. Read more... |
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Lake Tahoe's Plastic Problem
Lake Tahoe has a plastic problem. The Tahoe Area Group of Sierra Club believe that TRPA must enact ordinances to protect the health, safety. and welfare of the community, including the ability to protect and enhance the natural environment. Several research studies done by UC Davis TERC, DRI, UNR, and Clean Up the Lake show that:
- Most of the plastics come from food containers, bottles, plastic bags, toys and other items deemed as uncategorized.
- Most of the chemicals found in these plastics are typical for plastic bags, foodware items, and toys.
- The highest amount of plastic in the lake came from popular beach sites.
- Clean Up the Lake's 72 mile cleanup picked up 25,281 lbs of litter with 1,924.62 lbs of this being plastic making it the 4th most common item pulled from the lake.
- Food and beverage packaging comprise approximately one quarter of California's disposed waste stream annually, according to CalRecycle, and an estimated 67% of street litter, according to the Clean Water Fund.
- The environmental impacts of polystyrene and styrofoam (extruded polystyrene foam) are significant, particularly due to their non-biodegradability and energy-intensive production processes. Polystyrene and styrofoam persist in the environment for hundreds of years. They do not break down naturally.
Towns around Tahoe and the country are enacting ordinances to change plastic. We believe that it is time for the TRPA and counties to get onboard. We will keep you informed as we move through this process. We look to you, the environmental community, to get involved to make this a reality. Read more...
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Mother Lode Chapter Awards Laurel Ames the Tahoe Guardian Award
Last month, the Mother Lode Chapter of the Sierra Club held their annual banquet to celebrate all the work the chapter and their groups have been doing and accomplishing. During this banquet, our very own Laurel Ames was awarded one of the Chapter Awards named the Tahoe Guardian Award. Laurel has lived in the Lake Tahoe basin since 1947 and worked as our Conservation Chair in our Executive Committee to help protect Tahoe. We would like to congratulate and give a big thank you to Laurel with all the amazing activist work she has done for our group! Read more to learn more about the work Laurel has done... |
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Tahoe Keys Invasive Weeds Update
As many of you are aware, Sierra Club's Tahoe Area Group and California Sportfishing Protection Alliance sued the Lahontan Water Board in June 2022 over issuing the first ever permit to the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association (TKPOA) to dump herbicides in the Tahoe Keys lagoons, which are Lake Tahoe's waters. We won that lawsuit in May 2024 when El Dorado County Judge Gary Slossberg issued his ruling to vacate the permit and the environmental document. Unfortunately, Lahontan and TKPOA filed a Motion to Reconsider along with other briefs to the Court claiming that the Court did not receive a complete copy of the administrative record, which was sent to the Court by Lahontan Water Board staff. In a hearing on July 19, the court granted the Board's motion for reconsideration, but the Judge stated he did not think this would change the outcome of his ruling. The court granted our motion to strike TKPOAs objections as procedurally improper and the court ordered a further briefing by August 23rd. We are that TRPA, Lahontan, TKPOA, and the League are stalling to make sure they can finish their "test" and write a glowing report about the test results and the need for using more herbicides. We will continue to keep you updated. |
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